December 12, 1937…America’s First Mobile Units Delivered
On December 12, 1937, the world’s first electronic television remote units were delivered by RCA to NBC in New York City. The dual vehicle system, consisting two, 26 foot buses included one for production and one for transmission.
The production bus provided two portable single-lens Iconoscope cameras and the support equipment. The transmission bus contained the transmitter with a 50 foot antenna which could relay a remote pickup to the Empire State Building from as far away as 25 miles.
The units were field tested for about six months before being returned to RCA’s Camden plant for modifications in the synchronizing equipment. Another modification was the installation of an coaxial feed out the transmitter truck, which allowed them to shoot at 30 Rock’s sunken ice skating rink.
The trucks came back in late August, and on September 15, 1938, W2XBS began a weekly series produced entirely from the trucks. The “Man On The Street” show interviewed passers-by at different locations each week up until the 1939 World’s Fair opening in New York. By the time the World’s Fair came to town, NBC had a lot of experience with the units and used them heavily there.
Also shown here is the world’s first color mobile unit, which used one of these original 1938 trucks as part of the experimental field testing of color broadcasting. Although the interior had been totally retrofitted with all new color equipment, the use of one truck was now possible becuase of new, improved microwave equipment. The date for the conversion is early 1951.
I have seen photos of these trucks with RCA TK30s, which would put them in use in 1946, and I suspect they were used locally as a black and white unit until NBC bought new, larger bus units around 1950. Unfortunately, no one knows what became of them. -Bobby Ellerbee
Sammy- I don’t know if you ever saw it, but Tommy the set carpenter had and old bread delivery truck. That was the audio truck, partnered with a Blue Bird bus for video that used to park outside the Capitol for remote production.
And today, one person could carry all the equivalent equipment.
Chuck Pharis has them in his bunker.
The camera says “WNBT” and “WRCA”